patch

PACH/pæt͡ʃ/

28 meanings of patch

1
nouncountable
A small piece of cloth sewn onto clothes to cover a hole or make them stronger.
Like a sticker you put over a rip to hide it.
My mom sewed a patch over the hole in my jeans.
The old coat had patches on both elbows.
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2
nouncountable
A small piece of ground or land, often used for growing things.
Like a small spot of garden you can call your own.
We planted carrots in a small patch behind the house.
There were dry patches all over the lawn.
Similarplot, bed, lot
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3
nouncountable
A small part of something that stands out as different from what surrounds it.
Like one small spot of color on a plain wall.
We hit a patch of fog on the drive home.
There were bright patches of sunlight on the floor.
Similarspell, stretch, period, area, spot
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4
nouncountable
A small piece of material used to fix a hole or broken spot in something.
Like a small lid you glue over a hole to stop a leak.
Dad put a patch on the leaky roof before the rain.
The mechanic stuck a small patch over the hole in the tire.
5
nouncountable
A small set of computer data that changes part of a file or program.
Like a small fix you stick on, but for a computer program.
The game studio released a patch to fix the bug.
You need to install the latest patch before playing online.
Similarfix, update, hotfix
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6
verbtransitive
To fix clothes or other cloth by sewing a piece over a hole.
Like covering a hole in your sock with a new piece of cloth.
She learned to patch her jeans instead of throwing them away.
Grandpa patched the torn tent with an old shirt.
Similarmend, repair
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7
verbtransitive
To repair something by fastening pieces of material onto it.
Like sticking new boards over a broken fence.
They had to patch the fence with spare boards.
Workers patched the wall with bits of plaster.
Similarmend, repair, fix
8
nouncountable
A small cover worn over a hurt or injured eye.
Like a small lid that keeps a hurt eye safe.
After the surgery she wore a patch over her left eye.
The doctor told him to keep the patch on for two days.
9
nouncountable
A sticky piece of material that holds medicine and slowly sends it into the skin.
Like a sticker that slowly gives your body medicine through your skin.
She put a patch on her arm to help her stop smoking.
The nurse placed a patch on his shoulder for the pain.
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10
verbtransitive
To fix or improve a computer program by changing only part of it.
Like fixing one broken part of a toy instead of buying a new one.
The developers will patch the app to stop it from crashing.
They patched the game last night to remove the glitch.
Similarfix, update
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11
nouncountable
A piece used to fix something for a short time until a real repair can be done.
Like putting tape on a leak until you can fix it for real.
We put a patch on the pipe until the plumber could come.
The road crew laid a temporary patch over the pothole.
Similarfix, repair
12
verbtransitive
To fix or put something together quickly and in a messy way, usually with 'up'.
Like quickly taping a broken toy back together.
They tried to patch up the old shed before winter.
He patched up the broken chair with tape and string.
Similarmend, fix, settle
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13
nouncountable
A piece of material placed over a wound to cover it.
Like a small cloth lid that keeps a sore spot clean.
The nurse placed a patch over the cut on his arm.
She kept a clean patch on the wound until it healed.
Similardressing, bandage
14
nouncountable
The area or part of work that one person is in charge of.
Like the part of a garden each person looks after.
Crime on her patch had dropped over the past year.
Every officer knows the trouble spots on their own patch.
Similarterritory, turf, beat, area
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15
nouncountable
A short cable used to connect two pieces of electrical equipment.
Like a short cord that links two machines so they can work together.
He used a patch to connect the speaker to the amplifier.
The patch between the two machines came loose during the show.
Similarcable, lead
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16
verbtransitive
To connect two pieces of electrical equipment with a cable.
Like using a cord to join two machines so a signal can pass between them.
The sound crew will patch the microphone into the main speakers.
Can you patch the guitar into this amp for me?
Similarplug, connect, wire, route
Oppositedisconnect, unplug
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17
verbtransitive
To make a temporary connection between two parts of a communication system.
Like plugging in a wire to join two phones for a short time, then unplugging it.
The operator can patch your call straight through to the captain.
They patched the radio signal into the control room for a few minutes.
Similarconnect, transfer, route
18
nouncountable
A saved sound setting on an electronic music keyboard or synthesizer.
Like a saved recipe that tells the keyboard exactly how to make one sound.
She picked a warm piano patch for the slow song.
He saved his favorite patch so he could use it again later.
Similarpreset, sound
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19
verbtransitive
To make a quick, often temporary change to a computer program to fix a problem.
Like quickly fixing a small hole so something keeps working until you can repair it properly.
Just patch the code for now so the demo runs, and we'll fix it properly later.
They patched the program overnight as a stopgap until the real update was ready.
Similartweak, fix, hack
20
verbtransitive
To make something by joining many small pieces together, like a quilt.
Like building one big sheet by sewing many small pieces of cloth together.
She patched a warm blanket out of old shirts and fabric scraps.
They like to patch quilts from leftover bits of cloth.
Similarpiece
21
verbtransitive
To join or unite the separate pieces of something into one.
Like sewing the loose parts of a dress back into one whole piece.
The tailor patched the torn sections of the skirt back together.
Workers patch the long strips into one continuous sheet.
Similarjoin, stitch, assemble
22
nounhistoricalcountable
A small piece of black silk worn on the face long ago to make the skin look fairer.
Like a fake beauty mark people stuck on their skin to look prettier.
She wore a tiny patch on her cheek to set off her pale skin.
Your black patches you wear variously.
1625, John Fletcher, Philip MassingerHere, patches means small bits of black silk stuck on the face as fake beauty marks.
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23
nouncountable
A small piece of cloth pushed through a gun barrel to clean it.
Like a small cloth you push through a tube to wipe the inside clean.
He pushed a clean patch through the barrel after shooting.
Each patch came out black with powder residue.
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24
nouncountable
A piece of greased cloth or leather wrapped around a rifle ball to make it fit the barrel.
Like wrapping a marble in cloth so it fits tightly inside a tube.
He wrapped each lead ball in a greased patch before loading.
The patch helped the ball grip the grooves inside the barrel.
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25
nouncountable
A small block placed on the muzzle of a gun to help aim it correctly.
Like adding a small block at the front of a gun so it points where you look.
The gunner fitted a patch to the muzzle so his aim would be true.
Without the patch on the front of the barrel, the shots flew high.
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26
nounhistoricalcountable
A piece placed under part of a printing plate to make that area print darker.
Like slipping a small card behind paper so the writing presses down harder there.
The printer added a patch where the type looked too light.
A small patch under the plate made the dark areas stand out more.
Similaroverlay
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27
nouncountable
A brightly marked butterfly known for the spotted pattern on its wings.
A bright patch landed on the milkweed beside the trail.
We spotted several patches feeding among the desert flowers.
28
nounarchaic
A silly, useless person who is not worth taking seriously.
Like calling someone a fool who can't do anything right.
That lazy patch never finished a single job he started.
Pay no mind to the foolish patch and his empty boasts.
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Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–27

From Middle English patche. Its origin is not certain. It may come from an older word meaning a spot or piece of cloth, or possibly from Old French.

Meaning 28

Perhaps from Italian pazzo or paggio, with its form shaped by association with the other word patch.